After the decisive Roman victories at the battles of Parma and Bologna, the French army in Italy was left greatly weakened. New reinforcements from France had to be requested, but France was being pressured heavily from Germany and even more so, from the north in Belgium. The battles of Oudenarde and Lille had shaken France to its core, and there was little in the way of reinforcements that could be spared.
Following these defeats in the north, General Georgios Curcuas went on the offensive in Italy, decisively defeating the French army at the battles of Ferrara and Placentia. These defeats crippled what remaining military strength France had left in Italy.
Sensing France’s inevitable loss in the Italian Peninsula, several Italian nobles rose small guerilla-style armies and began raiding French supply routs, further weakening their hold on Northern Italy. It is unlikely that they did this out of any legitimately ‘patriotic’ sentiments towards the Greeks in Constantinople, but rather, they hoped that by helping the Roman Empire retake the rest of Italy, they might be pardoned for any past ‘cooperation’ they might have shown the French when it appeared they were winning.
With their hold on Italy quickly melting away against the young Curcuas’ relentless offensive, the French gathered what remained of their army and attempted to make a last stand at the city of Torino(Turin). The city was the last major settlement in Italy, and was close to the border. The French general hoped that he could hold the Greeks here, to prevent them from at least making it back into Southern France.
The Roman Army under Georgios Curcuas now had numerical superiority over the French however, as new recruits had been trained since the previous battles, using the liberated peoples of Northern Italy as new soldiers.
The French Army under the war-weary Francois De Neufville dug deep into its position, and braced for the Roman onslaught. Curcuas however, seemingly anticipating that Francois wished to lure him into a brash attack, ordered his army to make camp. From there, he moved his cannon forward and bombarded Francois’ position heavily.
Though the French had fortified their positions as best they could the relentless bombardment quickly opened a large hole in their defenses, killing or severely wounding some 800 French soldiers in the first five hours of the battle.
The bombardment continued for several more hours, until the French line had been stretched thin, barely able to fill the gaps made by the artillery.
General Curcuas, now confident of his victory, ordered his army to advance on the French position around Torino. Francois had arranged his regiments around the wooden fortifications of the city which they had constructed, while sending roughly half of his cavalry squadrons to hold several communes to the east and west of his position. Curcuas, with an army of 65,000 against Francois 45,000 was easily able to gain numerical superiority on every front.
Worse yet, General De Neufville was suffering further from the rebellious population of Torino itself. Often having to send soldiers to forcibly take supplies from the people there, their situation only continued to grow more desperate as the siege continued. From September to early November the battle was fought in the Roman’s favor, as well planned skirmishes and skillful maneuvers on General Curcuas’ part whittled down the defenders already outnumbered force.
By November, General Curcuas army had lost roughly 2,500 - 3,000 men out of their 65,000, while General De Neufville had lost 5,500 - 7,000 men, unacceptable losses considering his numerical disadvantage.
Finally confident that he could win the siege with one strong attack, Curcuas brought his infantry regiments forward, the elite 19th 16th and 21st spearheading the attack. His cavalry squadrons had driven their French counterparts from the surrounding communes, giving Curcuas dominance over the battlefield.
With the French line already stretched to the breaking point, the Greek offensive easily smashed through them, breaking through their fortifications and engaging the demoralized French army in hand-to-hand combat.
After roughly two hours of brutal melee fighting, the French army began to surrender in droves, as soldiers through down their arms and rose their hands to the sky. Among the men surrendering was General De Neufville himself. The battle began on September 14th 1708, and ended on November 7th of the same year.
This last, decisive battle forced the French Army completely out of Imperial Italy, further pressuring Louis XIV to ask for peace, which he had already been strongly considering since his defeats in Belgium and northern France earlier in the year.
Following these grand victories in Italy, Grand Domestic Alexandros Beliarious wrote back to Constantinople of his general’s victories, and asked that Curcuas be rewarded for his skill and bravery. On January 1st of the new year, Georgios was awarded the title of Count of Malta, which had become vacant after the execution of Mikhael Lecapenus. Though normally it would have gone to his heir in the Lecapenus family, it had been removed from their list of titles as a punishment by the Emperor.
Battle of Turin
Louis XIV, wishing for the disastrous war to end, sent his foreign minister, the Marquis de Torcy, to meet with the allied commanders at the Hague, in modern Belgium. Louis XIV offered the allies all of the territories he had obtained during his rule, basically offering to return France to the borders it had during the Peace at Westphalia.
Louis agreed to give Spain to allies to with as they pleased, and promised to trouble them no more. He even offered to furnish money to allies in order to help them expel his grandson from Spain.
The Emperor in Constantinople was more than pleased with this offer, and quickly sent his approval to his foreign minister, Arsenios Eirenikos. However, the other allies, Britain in particular were still not satisfied with Louis’ generous concessions.
They added one further humiliating demand: That Louis XIV, King of France, use the French Army to dethrone his own grandson in Spain alone. This was too humiliating for him to bear. He staunchly refused the indignities of the allies demands, stating that France would fight to the end, rather than give in to such humiliating terms.
The Emperor was said to be greatly upset at the allies overly harsh demands, which caused the war to be prolonged when it could have ended greatly in their favor. Nevertheless, he sent orders to his Grand Domestic in Italy that the majority of the Imperial Army in the peninsula be transported to Belgium to assist their allies in their advance towards Paris. Though transporting all of them through French waters of course was impossible, the Empire managed to send a fleet carrying roughly 25,000 men to Belgium. Though Grand Domestic Alexandros Beliarious was still recovering from his wounds, and was unable to go himself, he sent his young but capable Count Georgios Curcuas in his place.
The complete journey for the 25,000 men took the greater part of 1709 due to interference by the French navy, the army only fully arriving in mid August, joining with the rest of the allies. For most of 1709 the allied armies in Germany and Belgium had made diversionary maneuvers in order to attempt to draw the bulk of the French army from their real target, the fortress of Mons.
Though France had been shaken by its defeats at the hands of the allies in the past two years, Louis XIV, using both his and the French peoples feelings of indignity at the allies humiliating peace offer, appealed to France to fight under his banner one last time for the good of the Kingdom. This surprisingly passionate plea from their King brought thousands of new recuits into the French army, allowing the ailing Kingdom to stay in the war.
To lead his army, Louis XIV appointed his best and most trusted general, Claude Louis Hector de Villars, the Prince of Martigues, Marquis and Duke of Villars and Vicomte of Melun. This man was one of the greatest military commanders in French military history, and one of the few to attain the rank of Marshal General of France.
Though Claude de Villars wished to attack the allies, he had been ordered not to risk a battle just yet, and to maintain his strong defensive lines. Not wishing to rashly attack head on, the army under the supreme command of the Duke of Marlborough, with Prince Eugene of Savoy and Count Georgios Curcuas of Malta at his side, instead attacked the fortresses of Tournai and Ypres.
Though Tournai eventually fell, it took over two months to force it to surrender. To go after Ypres at this point would run the risk of disease and infection spreading through his army due to the poorly drained nature of the land there, so instead he moved towards the lesser, but strategically important fortress of Mons.
Taking this would allow the allies’ army to outflank Claude de Villars, and eventually defeat his well entrenched army. Villars recognized this as well however, and after receiving orders from Louis XIV, he quickly moved to engage the allied armies and prevent the fall of Mons. The two armies met at the gap of Malplaquet, south-west of Mons.
While the majority of the army was Dutch, the Austrians and Greeks still made up a sizeable minority. The Marlborough, hearing of the Count of Malta’s successes in Italy, asked him to augment the centre with his veteran infantry divisions from the Italian campaigns. Curcuas agreed and in the centre he placed the 16th, 21st, 12th, 28th and 19th divisions, who would lead the final attack against the French centre.
While the rest of the regiments were Dutch, the Marlborough chose to also place them under Curcuas command in order to promote good coordination among the ranks.
From roughly 6 AM to 9 AM, both sides exchanged artillery fire with only limited success. When it became clear that nothing would be gained from a bombardment alone, the Austrians under Eugene of Savoy launched a strong attack against the French line, which managed, after much hard fighting, to force the French back into the forest that was behind them. Seeing their success, many of the Dutch regiments broke off to attack the French right flank. However the right flank held its ground, inflicting horrible losses on the Dutch, however their superior numbers were just barely enough to keep the French right from assisting Villars as he struggled against Eugene.
Despite the hard pressed attack by Eugene and Marlborough, Villars managed to recover and continue to offer a strong resistance against them. Allied casualties continued to mount, with over two allied soldiers falling for every Frenchmen.
However the two commanders refused to give up their assault, and pressed forward despite the casualties, attacking with such ferocity that Villars was forced to call up his reserves in order to hold the line. Hold it he did however, proving the resilience of the French army to defend their Kingdom at all costs.
Marlborough, now knowing that he would need everything he had to break through Villars line, ordered the Curcuas to attack the centre of the French army with all of his forces.
At roughly 2 PM, Curcuas and his infantry lead a massive push into the French centre, and although suffering massive casualties as they did so, were slowly pushing the French back. It is reported that Curcuas dismounted his horse and charged into battle with only his General’s saber at his side in order to spur his men on.
It was hear that something that was an extremely rare occurrence in the 18th century happened. Marshal Villars, sensing the desperation in his army, seized a half-pike, and personally lead a regiment of troops into battle against the attacking allied centre. What happened next has shocked and surprised historians for centuries…
The battle of Malplaquet was the most bloody battle of the entire war.
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The sound of musket fire and clashing swords and bayonet filled the air, as the smell of blood filled the nostrils of everyone at Malplaquet, the dead littering the ground, gore mixing with the puddles of mud created by the cannon fire as the terrified expressions of the dead, and the screams of agony from the dying made it seem like hell itself had risen to engulf the battlefield.
Amongst this carnage, Georgios Curcuas, Count of Malta and Roman General, fought alongside his men. He was there to keep their spirits high and help them to keep moving forward, no matter what opposition they faced, but as he looked on the fallen bodies of men he had long called his friends, he began to doubt the outcome of the battle himself. Regardless, he fought fiercely with his saber against anyone who got in his way, mercilessly cutting them down with his well honed skill with the blade.
He watched as a French soldier turned his musket, bayonet fixed, towards him and charged directly towards him screaming. Georgios calmly side-stepped the attack as he rashly thrust his bayonet forward, and with a quick flick of his wrist, slashed the man across the throat, sending him crumpling to his knees, gasping for air as he was choked on his own fluids.
A separate shout of agony soon caught Georgios’ attention however, as he turned and saw one of his own men clutching his stomach, as blood and entrails spilled from it. The man standing above him was dressed in the elaborate uniform and breastplate of a French Marshal. Georgios recognize him from several paintings he had seen during the campaigns in Southern France. It was Claude de Villars!
Villars quickly turned to see Georgios, both men having a look of surprise on each others face at seeing the other there. In Villars hands he held a sturdy half-pike, which still dripped with the blood of the man he had just slain.
The two men seemed to glare at one another for an eternity as the battle raged around them. This kind of situation was almost unheard of in their day and age: Two high ranking officers coming face to face with one another on the battlefield.
Finally, almost simultaneously, the two men dashed towards each other, holding their respective weapons tightly, an intent to kill in both of their eyes. They both knew that if they could kill one of the opposing side’s commanders, it would be both a great morale boost for their men, and a shattering blow to the enemy.
Villars quickly thrust his half-pike forward, aiming towards Georgios’ stomach, but the young and nimble count narrowly leans out of the blows way, slashing towards Villars head as he had his last opponent. However Villars was also no amateur in personal combat and managed to duck under the blow, drawing his pike back for another quick thrust towards his opponents gut.
The two continued to dodge and parry each others blows with great skill, being pushed to their limits in martial prowess. Georgios dodged Villars thrust again, extending his blade slightly past Villars pike, attempting to slice his lead wrist, however Villars quickly twists his pike, catching the blade against the neck of his weapon.
This exchanged continued on as the two men became completely focused on one another, the surrounding battle taking a backseat to their personal war. As the two men’s weapons clashed again, the outcome of the fight seemed at best uncertain.
However a sudden chill up the spine prompted the two men to suddenly look above them, as a large piece of round shot impacted the ground a relatively short distance away from them, the force of which threw the two men off their feet and sent them tumbling down a small hill.
Their weapons were thrown a good distance away, and both men were left stunned on their backs for the next minute. Finally struggling to their feet, the two men once again glared at each other, before Villars lunged forward, tackling Georgios back to the ground. The two men struggled fiercely, exchanging blows with their fists.
Georgios managed to force Villars off of him, and wrapped his arm around the older man’s neck, choking him with all of his strength and he pounded on the side of his temple with his free hand. Villars growled in pain as Curcuas’ fist impacted his head, but regained himself enough to smash the Greek in the stomach with his elbow, repeatedly hitting him until he was forced to release his grip.
Villars quickly seized Curcuas by the hair and smashed his faced to the ground, pressing on the back of his head as he pushed his face deeper into the dirt, attempting to smother him. Georgios flailed his arm frantically in an effort to fight him off, and managed to seize a rock, smashing Villars in the side of his face with it.
He attempted to smash him in the head with it once more, but Villars seized the hand it was in, and swiftly kicked Curcuas in the gut, forcing him to drop it. He tackled Georgios to the ground once more, but Georgios managed to throw Villars off of him, seizing his head and smashing his face into the ground repeatedly with great force.
This now seemed more like a fight between two desperate homeless men over the last piece of food than a fight between nobility. Villars managed to slip his leg under Georgios, knocking him off of his feet and allowing him to quickly stand and leap on top of the younger man, planting his fist hard into his face.
Curcuas was forced to take several blows before finally being able to deal a hard right hook of his own, forcing Villars off of him as they traded positions and Georgios returned the damage that had been dealt to him. Curcuas then wrapped his hands around Villars neck and began to choke him as the other man struggled under his grip.
Gasping for breath, Villars fought with all he had, punching and kicking Georgios until he finally managed to knee him in the ribs, forcing him off.
Villars tried to scramble to his feet again, but the damage he had sustained caused him to crumple down to one knee. Looking up, he saw Georgios in a similar position. The two men looked at each other for what seemed like several minutes.
There was no longer rage or bitterness in there eyes, but a sort of begrudged respect. The battle around them mirrored their present condition. Their once dignified and well dressed manner was now covered with dirt and each others blood. Their faces were caked with dirt and blood, which dripped from the cuts that had been made by each others fists. Likewise, countless bodies, all once part of a pristinely disciplined army lay scattered on the field, broken, mangled. The smell of blood permeated the air as the dead and dieing lay in all directions as far as the eye could see.
Villars finally stood to his feet, finally speaking, “Shall we call it a draw for now?” He questioned the younger man in accented Greek, dusting off his uniform with little affect. Georgios also climbed to his feet and nodded, “Yeah, for now.” he responded, with both men having the hint of a smirk on their lips.
The two men then slowly turned their backs on one another, and walked off to the respective armies. Though by all the rules of a proper ‘duel’ they had disgraced themselves with their brutal fighting, they both felt their personal battle far more reflected the chaos and ’dirtiness’ of war than any formal duel would have. For both men, it reminded them of how it felt to be a lowly soldier again, a feeling neither had experienced in years, and it brought with it a certain satisfaction.
Though the battle continued to rage, the outcome was growing more certain, despite the heavy casualties on both sides. Nevertheless, both sides fought so valiantly at Malplaquet that there would be no shame for the defeated.
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By 4 PM the French army had began to retreat from Malplaquet in good order, its commanders realizing that they would not be able to win the battle. Claude de Villars ordered a organized withdrawal of his army, and they left the battlefield in a disciplined manner. The allied armies however had suffered nearly 25,000 casualties as opposed to only 12,000 French, and their army was simply too exhausted to pursue the French. Though the battle ended in a victory for the allies, the fortress of Mons falling shortly after in late October, it was a Pyrric victory as they were unable to follow up on their success, and the French were allowed to make an orderly retreat to fight again another day.
1709 ended with something of a stale mate. While the French had been driven from the field, the allies were unable to press their advantage…
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There you go, something a bit new for you. More soon.
